China’s reversal of its one-child policy is about controlling politics—not population
Yet without strongman governance, bold change is not in the cards. Deng Xiaoping was able to reverse the country’s course and create a four-decade “economic miracle.” Today, there is no one in the Chinese political system with the power to do anything like that. There is a technocratic, collective decision-making elite that believes change should be implemented in small steps and only after long periods of experimentation. This means solutions are carefully considered—and that change is extremely slow in coming.